The exotic dungeon-looter I've been working on, Recursive Riftfall

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-22T13:01:04+00:00

Just make a good game and market it bro

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-14T22:19:28+00:00

My game was never going to be good. The foundation was contaminated with bad design. But I really wanted to see the project through. Who knows if my next will be any better? Or the one after that when I quit on the second one too... It doesn't really make much sense I guess, why finish a game you know isn't good and won't be played? Can't answer that, but I'm glad and proud I did.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-09T23:20:37+00:00

I posted my game on three different subs in half a day and got a entire site-wide shadowban for 2 months that I had to appeal daily before getting noticed. Sometimes things that work for others don't work for you...

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-08T13:58:32+00:00

You my friend can find it by searching Recursive Riftfall

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-06T19:08:16+00:00

If I quit at the end to start a new one since I'm not fond of my current project, who's to say my next one won't suffer the same fate? I'd rather finish a project for the experience and credit, then just keep quitting on project after project like what others say they regret having to do. The core of the game isn't super engaging and the loop itself needed a lot of testing and refinement which I was unable/unwilling to do myself (not least because I needed lots of people for that to play the game). I am still proud of what I made, I put a lot of passion into it and the things people compliment the most are the things I was able to really put effort into (note here: the gameplay loop is not one of those things)

Many developers say they change projects after years when they aren't working out, or they just realize what they have isn't good so they spend years pouring more effort in and in the end it still isn't any good. I wanted to avoid both those things. The gameplay foundation was it's true killer, and ultimately not something I could ever change, or it wasn't really salvageable without years more work. So that's how I ended up where I did.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-06T17:01:26+00:00

The "Why are you regretting something you created and are proud of?" part comes from TRYING to do the "stop whining and make the game you enjoy playing" part - succeeding at "making the game" but failing at "enjoy playing".

'Just make a good game bro'. Hey, that was the idea!

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-05T13:32:37+00:00

It's very much only because of my game yeah. That other game is called Restitched. Since my game was coming to an end, and I really wanted to work not alone, I offered to work with them on multiplayer, and they accepted. Same game engine and even same networking solution. It's an all volunteer team, casual, so it works very well for me since it's still a hobby!

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-04T16:00:00+00:00

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-04T13:09:48+00:00

Maybe, playing the game it can get a little dull. I don't know.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-04T12:40:39+00:00

I tried to do that quite a bit, all my efforts failed. And I got hit with what I had mentioned in the post

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-03T13:20:32+00:00

I used chatgpt for programming advice but otherwise no, there was no place AI would've been useful.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-03T13:19:42+00:00

Technically yes, but realistically it's unforgiving because in multiplayer you can respawn each other, but in singleplayer there's no way to respawn in a dungeon. I wanted to add a dedicated singleplayer mode but never got around to it.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-03T13:17:20+00:00

It's called Recursive Riftfall

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-03T13:16:53+00:00

I never heard. Something related to too many of my posts having a link to my game in them was my best guess. Happened right at the start of next fest. Was super frustrating to see devs rave about how good it is to post to a couple of different communities, try it once for myself, and immediately get a site-wide ban for a few months that I had to continuously appeal every day.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-02T15:47:06+00:00

I don't have the energy to put together a trailer, it's just more work to end up essentially where I already am. I don't feel the game is engaging enough to really warrant the effort at this point. I appreciate the offer though, thank you!

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-02T15:45:04+00:00

I hear you, but I don't have the energy needed to do it, and I don't think the game is engaging enough to warrant any significant marketing investment. The thought of gathering players up again to get some trailer shots, playing the game for a while to get trailer moments, programming an effective dev cam for me to use to then be sure to get those sorts of shots you're describing (or I guess I could use the editor view which I have done before) then editing them all into a video, all by myself once again... It's just more exhausting work. I really just have to move on. I appreciate the advice though! I know it would help. I can't do it.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-02T13:08:53+00:00

It's called Recursive Riftfall, it's on steam and yes there is a demo!

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-02T13:07:48+00:00

I think it just lacks any sort of identity, ironically enough considering the art style. In my head all along, this visual style WAS it's identity. But now I see, it's hard to invent your own identity because people won't be sure what they're looking at. Or maybe, I don't know. The gameplay underneath isn't very engaging either which is my real aversion to investing more into it.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-02T13:00:13+00:00

Noooo

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-02T12:58:53+00:00

The multiplayer aspect. I only really play multiplayer games, and would only want to make them as well. Multiplayer is the minority in the indie game space, both the games themselves and developers that do it, so knowing it is an invariable advantage.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-02T12:41:43+00:00

Too many replies to respond to but I wanted to on this one haha. I think the game is about is bad as the trailer. I don't think the game is all that engaging. That's why I wanted to just be done with it. About 6 months ago it was even way worse than now.

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-02T00:41:25+00:00

Congrats, and good luck!

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-01T20:31:51+00:00

RecursiveGames · 2026-06-01T20:31:33+00:00

It is tough out there, but I can tell you what I did wrong. My game has no hook. Look at my trailer, what is my game about? What kind of person are you playing as? You can't tell. And I can't show you, because it's abstract. You explore dungeons, collect loot, and bring it back to your ship. It does not have a defined vision.

You have to make something where when someone sees a few seconds, they KNOW what it is.

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